Electric receptacle guard



Aug. 8, 1967 G. M. PRUONTO ETAL ELECTRI C RECEPTACLE GUARD Filed May 20, 1965 INVENTOR GENE M. PPUO/VTO C/IAQLES W- B/CKEL ATTORNEY 3,335,390 ELECTRIC RECEPTACLE GUARD Gene M. Pruonto, 124 E. 1st Ave. 16602, and Charles W. Bickel, 2710 Oak St. 16601, both of Altoona, Pa. Filed May 20, 1965, Ser. No. 457,295 6 Claims. (Cl. 339-39) This invention relates to guards or shields of the type used in conjunction with electric outlet wall receptacles.

A primary function of such devices is to provide some shielding for the socket in order to prevent very small children from playing with it and particularly from inserting objects into the socket which may result in a childs receiving a serious or even fatal shock. A further function of such devices is to make it diflicult if not impossible for a child to pull an extension line plug from the socket. Other advantages are to protect the plug or plugs which protrude outwardly from the receptacles from being accidentally struck or damaged or broken, to prevent accidental dislodgment, to provide a trim appearance in that the plug or plugs and socket are substantially concealed when the shield is in place, and to provide a readily cleanable dust protective surface.

Receptacle guards have long been known and many patents exist for such devices. However, the prior art constructions are relatively complex and expensive, and many of them are not only diflicult to install but also are useable only with outlets specially designed to coact with respective shields.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device of the kind described which is exceedingly simple and rugged and which can be readily manufactured with considerable economy and sold at a very low price.

Another object of the invention is to provide a receptacle guard which can be easily fitted to any standard wall receptacle, using only a screwdriver.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a receptacle guard which will function as a protective and ornamental device and which need only be partially removed from its normal position in order to insert or remove line plugs.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a construction that only older children or adults would have the wit and the strength to remove or partially remove.

Briefly, the invention comprises two elements, preferably made of plastic, one of which is a support bracket which fastens beneath the receptacle face plate and provides a forwardly extended hook disposed at each side of the plate. The guard or shield component is a protective panel of rigid plastic which is sufficiently flexible so that it can be bent by the fingers. Each side of the panel has a slot, and, when the panel is flexed into an arc, the hooks can enter respective slots to hold the panel in front of the receptacle whereby the arcuateness provides an open space for housing and shielding wall plugs inserted in the receptacle. The material of the panel is sufliciently resilient so that squeezing will narrow the arcuateness to effect complete removal, or to permit unhooking at either side so that the panel can be swung away from the receptacle to expose it in order that plugs may be withdrawn or inserted.

A detailed description of the invention now follows in conjunction with the appended drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of the panel face in flat condition.

FIG. 2 is an elevation edge view of the panel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevation of the support bracket.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an assembly of the panel with a wall socket receptacle of the duplex type.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view showing an outlet with the cover plate removed and the bracket in place to be fastened between the receptacles.

3,335,390 Patented Aug. 8, 1967 FIG. 6 is a perspective showing how the guard panel can be fastened to or removed from the outlet and also illustrating a partially removed condition.

FIG. 7 is an elevation showing the guard panel in place for shielding an outlet.

Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a panel 10 which may be made of any rigid type of plastic having sufficient flexibility so that it can be easily bent from a substantially flat condition to the arcuate condition illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6. Such panels are about 4" wide in the flat and may be readily diecut from suitable sheet plastic material about A6 of an inch in thickness and preferably arced at the top and the bottom to give extra length, being provided with a rectangular slot 12 at each side. A bracket 15 for holding the panel is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 and consists of a simple extrusion having a center bar 16 provided with integral curved hooks 18 at respective ends and a hole 21in the center. The hooks 18 can enter slots 12, as illustrated in FIG. 4, when the panel 10 is flexed so as to bring the sides within the spacing of the hooks and then releasing the panel so that its normal resiliency causes it to expand, eflecting protrusion of the hooks into respective slots. Thus, FIG. 6 illustrates how a hand can grip the panel to squeeze it into holding position for hook engagement.

The panel will be understood to be suitably wide in the flat so as to provide sufficient shielded space in front of the outlet to accommodate one or more line plugs 22, FIG. 4, when in curved condition. This is, of course, variable for different sizes of outlets, outlets about 4"4%" is suitable for panel width.

Installation is exceedingly simple; the face plate 25 of outlet housing 28 may be removed by taking out the screw 31, all such components being shown in assembly in FIGS. 4 and 6. Bracket 15 is then merely placed in the usual indentation between the two receptacles 33, lining up the hole in the bracket with the threaded hole of the dual receptacle. The vertical width of a bracket is such as to fit snugly in the shallow indentation between the receptacles. The face plate and screw are then replaced, which secures the bracket firmly into position. The bracket is made of thin material so that the shimming effect caused thereby between the face plate and the respective housing is negligible, about A thickness is suitable.

With a bracket thus in place and the hooks extending from the side of the face plate, the panel 10 may be readily applied as hereinabove described, the final visual effect between as illustrated in FIG. 7.

When it is desired to insert or remove plugs, the panel may be completely removed or either side of the panel may be unhooked and the panel then swung on the opposite hook out of the way, thus exposing the receptacles as illustrated in phantom lines, FIG. 6. The panel is supportable hingedly on either hook, and the rectangularity of hook and slot maintains the panel in a vertical plane when partially removed.

The line cords are permitted to hang downwardly as shown in FIG. 7, emerging from below the lower edge of the panel.

It will, of course, be appreciated that any suitable ornamental design may be printed on the front of the panel.

In the merchandising of the invention it is contemplated that the bracket 15 will be fastened to a card and that the panel will be placed in actual hooked position held by the bracket to the card. In that manner an arcuate set will be effected in the panel due to the curvature and such set will effect initial curvature in the panel so as to render it conveniently grasped for applying it during installation. Thereafter, of course, the panel remaining in place for extended periods of time will retain a curvabut for standard house- Lure so that upon removal it may always be readily grasped for flexing during replacement.

Although for economy the use of plastic materials is preferable, it will, of course, be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Thus the bracket could be a sheet metal stamping and the panel of any suitable flexible aluminum, steel, or other material. If made of metal, the thickness would be less than of course. About .015", the thickness of metal venetian blind shutter material, is believed suitable.

It will likewise be understood that although the invention teaches replacement of the face plate, primarily for its particular purpose, nevertheless, the face plate is not essential to the utility of the invention since the bracket could be fastened by means of the screw 31 without replacing the face plate, and the panel would then, of course, conceal the outlet housing so that the omission of the face plate would not even be noticeable. Further, although the invention is shown in conjunction with twin receptacles, it is usable in conjunction with any type of outlet which provides a holding means for the bracket.

Having thus described the invention, it is realized that changes may be made without departing from the spirit thereof and, therefore, it is not desired that the invention be limited to the precise illustration herein given except as set forth in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a device of the class described the combination of a bracket having a pair of spaced holding means, and a panel of initially flat flexible material having spaced slots engageable by respective holding means, the spacing between slots being greater than the spacing between said holding means whereby said panel may be manually bowed to effect engagement of respective slots and holding means to hold said panel to said bracket.

2. The combination of a wall outlet having a face plate and a housing, and means secured intermediate said face plate and said housing and providing connecting elements exposed at respective sides of said face plate, an initially flat flexible shield having means for engaging said connecting elements and being manually bendable into an are for effecting such engagement, whereby said shield is disposed to guard and substantially conceal said outlet.

3. The combination of an electrical outlet having holding means at each side thereof and an initially flat flexible panel manually bendable to effect an arcuate shape approximating the width of said receptacle and being engageable by said holding means to be retained in said shape by resilient pressure of said panel whereby the confines of said arcuate shape effect a space for housing a line plug.

4. A device for shielding a wall outlet comprising a support means having a body length extending in excess of the width of said outlet and terminating in a fastening device at each end, an initially flat panel of flexible material having an area at least as large 3 the enclosure area of said outlet when curved from a flat condition to an arcuate condition to conform to the width of said outlet and being provided with means at each side to engage a respective fastening device for holding said panel in arcuate condition to shield said outlet, said panel having a suitable width in flat condition as to effect a shielded space in front of said outlet to accommodate a line plug, said support means comprising a bar having integral ends formed as hooks, and means for securing said bar transversely of a wall outlet.

5. The combination of a dual receptacle electrical outlet having holding means at each side thereof and an initially flat flexible panel manually bendable to effect an arcuate shape approximating the 'Width of said dual receptacle and being engageable by said holding means to be retained in said shape by resilient pressure of said panel whereby the confines of said arcuate shape eifect a space for housing a line plug, said holding means comprising a bar having integral ends formed as books, and extending transversely across said outlet generally centrally of said dual receptacle.

6. A device for shielding an electrical receptacle comprising a bar and means for fastening said bar to an electrical receptacle at substantially a central portion of said bar, said bar having a hook-like formation at each end disposed at a respective side of said receptacle, 3. panel of initially flat flexible material and manually bendable into an arcuate enclosure for said outlet, said panel being provided with slots adjacent its edges for engagement with respective hook-like formations whereby said panel is maintained in an arcuate condition and retained in place to shield said receptacle, said slots and hooklike formations being of rectangular cross section so that said panel may be hingedly supported on either projection when disengaged from the other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,510,745 6/1950 Kilg'ore l74-67 2,526,606 10/1950 Gregg l7467 2,722,665 11/1955 Sauder Q 33936 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD C. ALLEN, Examiner. I. H. MCGLYNN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A DEVICE OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED THE COMBINATION OF A BRACKET HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED HOLDING MEANS, AND A PANEL OF INITIALLY FLAT FLEXIBLE MATERIAL HAVING SPACED SLOTS ENGAGEABLE BY RESPECTIVE HOLDING MEANS, THE SPECING BETWEEN SLOTS BEING GREATER THAN THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID HOLDING MEANS WHEREBY SAID PANEL MAY BE MANUALLY BOWED TO EFFECT ENGAGEMENT OF RESPECTIVE SLOTS AND HOLDING MEANS TO HOLD SAID PANEL TO SAID BRACKET. 